Stargazing
by noelwym
Summary: Despite their differences, a young Thane Greymane finds himself strangely allured by the wolf they call River. In a time before the Rot and matters of succession become the main concerns of the Wolf Clan and the whole of the Kingdom of Armello, a strange friendship forms between the two young cubs, though something more genuine might be blooming beneath the surface.


The door creaked open, slowly. There was a long pause before a twitching muzzle nervously pushed itself through the crack. Thane quickly glanced at one side of the hallway and then at the other. Devoid of life and quiet except for the crackling of the torches. Usually, there would be a servant or two walking past but the curfew hours had begun and an eerie quiet had fallen upon the castle and the surrounding town. The perfect time to make breakout of the prison that was his home.

A sigh of relief escaped the young wolf. "Thank the Wyld." He had been planning his excursion for days now and thus, had hoped to the high heavens for a simple getaway. For that brief moment, everything seemed to be going according to plan. Or so he thought for those few brief seconds of elation. Just as he took his first step out into the hallway, a cough shattered the desirable silence.

"Prince Thane, does your Highness require my humble assistance?"

A gasp escaped Thane who immediately froze in his steps. Through his own folly, he had missed the intimidatingly tall Iron Guardswoman standing as still as the suits of armour lining the hallway. She looked down at the frightened prince with suspicion as she relocated her post to the stairway. "No, no," Thane stammered as he cursed himself silently. "Nothing at all. I was just…just…never mind me." Slamming the door behind him, he quickly pulled down the latch. Even through the thick oaken wood, he could still feel her stare burning through.

"Darn it," snarled the prince. "So much for that idea." The dying light of the setting sun was rapidly disappearing behind the mountains. He had no more time to lose. His princely gowns were discarded for a more unrefined set of clothes that he had procured from a former kitchen boy. Where he was going, there was little need nor desire for anyone to recognise him. Throwing the leather strap of his satchel around his shoulder, he reached under his bed to retrieve a package. With that done, he headed for the window.

His room was on the third floor of the castle, and he had long familiarised himself with this unorthodox means of escape to avoid prying eyes. With gingerness more befitting a feline thief than a lupine prince, he hoisted himself over the balustrade and found himself in a precarious position a good distance above the castle moat. The first time he had attempted this, he lost his nerves and found himself clinging tightly to the wall for dear life; only managing to clamber back up in a fit of desperation. Practice made perfect though. This time around, he descended slowly, carefully looking for footholds and handholds in the masonry. Falling was unlikely to be fatal at this height, but it would be preferable not to test fate. And gravity.

As soon as his own two feet were safely on the ground, he dusted himself off and quickly charged up the slope of the moat before any of the castle guards could spot him. He felt a little giddy at the thought of venturing out into the city without the suffocating accompaniment of a full escort. Other than a sleeping beggar, the usually bustling city resembled a ghost town, what with the streets being lain with the hazy winter fog. Thane glanced up at the battlements to ensure he was not being watched. His mind at ease, he vanished into the fog, taking off in the direction of a decrepit house at the edge of the city.

The house and its compound were silent, and all but one of the windows were shrouded in darkness. A glimmer of light showed through the shutters of said window. As Thane scrambled over the wall, a shadow passed by the light. Someone was home. He dashed into the shadows of shrubs directly below the window. "River?" Thane called softly. No response. "River!" He called louder before realising the folly of alerting the guards to his presence. His heart was in his mouth as he waited for the deafening silence to be broken. It did not.

"Oh, come on!" Thane muttered to himself as he reached down to scoop a handful of pebbles. He threw one at the shutters, followed by another, and a third. The fourth was already airborne when the shutters were finally thrown open and a maddened yelp was heard. The surly face of a half-awaken cub appeared, glaring down right at Thane.

"River?" Thane stood back so that the grey-brown wolf could see him clearly.

The wolf above stared at him witheringly. Her mouth quirked in annoyance when she finally spoke. "I'm Sky."

"Oh, Sky. Umm. Oh, dear." Getting this embarrassingly tongue-tied was a new low even for his own standards. In his defense, the two sisters did look alike, as to be expected of identical twins. "Curse it. I'm so…so sorry."

"Save your apologies for someone who wants them," snarled Sky. "Did you come here just to mock me?"

"No, of course not. Well, I was…wanting to speak to River actually."

Still keeping his distaste for him clear, Sky questioningly raised her brow. "Whatever for?"

"Umm…I have something…I have a gift for her." Retrieving the package from his satchel, he held it aloft for Sky to see.

"What is it?" An unimpressed Sky demanded.

"It's a…. It's a personal matter, alright!" snapped Thane. "You have no need to know."

Rolling her eyes, Sky called down, "You know, I could just call the guards on you now, right? I don't think you're supposed to even be out here alone. Especially at this ungodly hour."

Thane's ears twitched. "Look, I just want to hand this to River, nothing more. I'm your Prince! You must –"

"Oh, I must?!" Sky sniggered sardonically. "Oh yes, my liege. All hail Prince Thane the Prick! Your word is my command! Shall I bow down to you and kiss your feet in my nightgown too? Guards!"

"Quiet! Alright, alright! I yield," cried Thane. Princeship did not hold as much power as he had once hoped. "I'll go, alright? But could you at least pass this to her for me? Please! I swear on the Star that I mean her no harm."

Sky stared long and hard at him before letting out a relenting sigh. "Look. There is nothing I want more right now than to be back in bed and have you out of my fur. If I tell you where she is, will you leave me alone?"

"Huh, yes, of course!"

"She's gone to visit our mother," muttered Sky before abruptly slamming the shutters and blowing out the light.

"I see. Thank you, Sky. Have a good night!"

"Get lost, Thane."

Thane had never found the courage to ask River about the circumstances of her mother's demise despite his brimming with curiosity. He had learnt to keep his maw shut about the matter, a lesson learnt after the time she almost bit off his nose and tore half of his whiskers when his tongue was much looser. However, he did always wonder if it was the way he had worded the question itself rather than the topic.

It was common knowledge, however, that to have a place in the Hall of the Fallen was a great honour for all members of the Wolf Clan. Peasants and warriors alike were lain to rest here, all having been made equal in the eyes of the Clan through unparalleled acts of courage and the ultimate sacrifice. Even the simplest headstone here was to be treated with the utmost reverence. Thus, it said much that River's mother had an entire statue dedicated to her.

The prince quietly removed his shoes at the footsteps that led up to the mausoleum. Even as he pushed open the slightly ajar door, he could hear the hushed mutterings of quiet prayer being mumbled in the near distance. He ambled across the cold, dark agate floor, feeling it inappropriate to even make the slightest noise in a hallowed place. Then, he spotted her.

She knelt before her mother's statue, head lowered as she continued her prayers. Thane thought he saw her ear twitch. Given her acute senses, she had probably heard him coming from a mile away. She did not react in any way whatsoever though which was for the best. As he kept a respectable distance away from her, Thane's eyes gazed upward at the great figure that kept her daughter shrouded in shadow. With a Ranger's bow in one hand and a dagger in the other, Lady Arya was an intimidating figure even when crafted out of stone. Her eyes held that same cold fire that both River and Sky had. A steely look befitting those who made their lives in the mountains. Thane wondered if she had River's golden eyes or Sky's grey.

"Hail, Thane." Thane jolted backwards, nearly falling, when he found himself face to face with River all of a sudden. Despite her brave attempts at maintaining her usual facade of stoicness, he noticed that her eyes were still teary. A distrustful frown did form on her brow however when she then said, "I sincerely hope for your sake that you did not come here to mock me."

Thane huffed indignantly. "Oh, for the love of all that's good, you can't seriously think of me that lowly. Do you really think I'd do that?"

"I hold many great uncertainties about your character, Thane. A certain someone did call me a 'wooden sourpuss' a few days ago."

"You punched me right in the snout!" Thane grumpily reminded her.

River shot daggers at him. "Deservingly."

"It was a joke alright! How would I have known that you would have taken it to heart that badly?!"

"Indeed. You can never be faulted with anything. As to be expected from you. Never doing wrong, never capable of admitting it. What exactly do you know, Thane? Sincerely, I doubt the presence of content within that thick skull of yours." Letting out a cold growl, River shook her head as she stalked pass Thane. "An oaf in a prince's garments. Nothing more than that."

The door slammed behind her as she left. Thane stared at it for a moment, sulkily thinking to himself about how nice it would be if she stepped on some refuse on her way back. Perhaps, he thought to himself, he would be better off without her. That Northern slang of hers also always did come off as obnoxious, though articulate. What good had she ever done for him anyway, he griped. That was at least before he glanced up at Lady Arya's statue again. The subsequent pang of guilt struck him deeply enough to quickly take off after River.

"Wait! River!" he cried, racing to catch up with her. By the time she had broken her stride to look back at him with her arms folded, he was out as breath as though he had run a mile. "River, I…I think I owe you an apology."

"Oh, where have I heard that one before?" River scoffed.

"Please, no more snark, alright?" begged Thane. "I'm trying to make amends here and it's hardly a simple task for me. I'm saying…I'm saying….that I'm truly sorry for my conduct. Alright? It was wrong of me to use you for an expense of a laugh. Especially after what you've gone through. Hey, I admit it, I know I tend to run my mouth, but I still mean it."

River said nothing.

"Please?"

River continued her silence, instead choosing to look away. Thane felt a little queasy at having to seemingly humble himself before River of all people, but at the same time, knew that pride was a particular quality that she took a very low view of. Her hands dropping to her sides, she finally spoke, "I will consider your petition later." She paused to glance up at Thane. "My question remains unanswered. Why have you come?"

Thane's cheeks flushed a bright hue of red in the evening darkness.

"What?" asked River, somewhat alarmed at this unusual reaction.

"I had…I have something to give you."

"And that would be?"

Thane had to bite down hard on his tongue when he noticed that she too was starting to look a little pink in the face, despite her best efforts to appear unmoved by his words. "It's nothing bad, I promise. But you must agree to one condition first."

"And what's that?" River asked suspiciously.

"Win a race against me." Thane looked across the moonlit sky towards the Iron Tower, a long abandoned watchtower that once loomed over the city only to be literally dwarfed by more imposing fortifications. "Up the stairs of the Iron Tower all the way to the top."

"Why?"

Thane groaned. "Oh, for Wyld's sake, River, just go along with it, won't you?."

River took a deep breath. "This is foolish. Whose mark do we leave on?"

"Mine. Go!"

Within the blink of an eye, the two cubs were off, charging through the desolate city streets with a falcon's speed. Thane and River eyed each other warningly as they ran; half-expecting the other to suddenly attempt to trip them, but it turned out to be a fair fight between the two. At one point though, River managed to pull ahead and create a sizeable distance between them. Setting off in pursuit, Thane forgot any animosity he had toward River in the intense excitement of the chase. He took to the roofs to bypass the obstacles that laid on the streets, throwing himself across the chasms yawning below.

"I almost feel bad about this!" called Thane tauntingly as he spotted River being forced to dart round corners and barrel through laundry lines. She did not respond, focusing on and slowly succeeding at bridging the gap. The Iron Tower rose before him, standing tall and precariously looking over a cliff. He was neck and neck with River when they leapt over the chain that hung limply to prevent intruders and when they charged up the stairs. Eventually, the shadows of the tower gave way to the light of the night sky. His knees aching to the bone, Thane collapsed onto the floor with a gasp.

"I…I won," he rasped.

Just as he was catching his breath, he suddenly found River laying on the ground beside him, clapping him on the shoulder. "Drink," she mumbled as she held up a waterskin to his mouth. She slumped over a nearby dusty crate as Thane quenched his terrible thirst. "A tie was achieved. Now, explain why I had to burn my paws off for you."

"Right, right," muttered Thane as he reached into his satchel. In his hand, he held a dark blue leather-bound book with an ornate silver clasp. In its very centre was an engraving of an eight-pointed star, unmistakably The Star Over the Mountain. "Here. Have a look."

"Really?" she asked, brow raised unimpressedly. "A book?"

"Oh, for Wyld's sake, it's not _just_ a book. That's seven months of my own earnings from kitchen work right there!"

Unlocking the clasp, River turned the page. She leafed through a few more pages before pausing, her eyes widening in surprise. "Did you?"

Thane smirked widely before admitting modestly. "By hand." 

Before her, beautifully sketched and coloured across the pages were the constellations that were right then dancing in the heavens above. It was made rather clear to her that this was no mere ordinary star chart though. Magical auras radiated throughout the book, as the glowing illustrations moved across the paper in life-like motions. There was Yilden the Seer, still walking across the sky looking for a lasting cure for the Rot. And Vale the Bombardier was hurling her volley of grenades as Morcant the Resurrected sliced the air with his powerful sickle. "You...clearly have some talent in the arts."

"I do occasionally learn something from the tutors," chuckled Thane gaily as he looked upon River's face, illuminated by the stars above and from the book below. "I only managed to fill in the first hundred or so pages, so you can fill in the rest with any constellations you want."

"Indeed. I will treasure this. You have my word." She paused for a while as she closed the book. "But why the gift, Thane?"

Thane thought for a moment. "As I was saying just now, I've been of a twat to you and Sky. It's a pretty damning fault of mine and I'm trying my best to be better at biting back my tongue. So, I'm trying to make up for that. But, at the same time, I felt you needed something to take your mind off things. Especially with your...mother..."

"Oh." said River quietly. "Thank you, Thane. It is admittedly sweet of you. Despite your being an occasional intense pain…" River looked a little pained as she continued, "You do have your charms, rare as they may be."

A shy smile grew widely across Thane's face. "So does that mean you -"

"Prince Thane of the House of Greymane!" A gruff voice suddenly roared from behind the two cubs. Thane immediately sprung to his feet and veered around to find himself staring into the burning eyes of one livid Crown Prince.

"Knowing you, you must have been brimming with pride when you climbed out the window. Quite a shame I didn't find you sprawled and bloodied in the moat. Wouldn't have to come out all the way here if you were. Did you really think that the guards would not notice your absence? And that no one would report two young vagabonds trespassing up the Iron Tower?" barked Fang as he picked Thane off the floor with ease.

"It was only for a short while," whimpered Thane.

"Oh, just a short while then?" sneered Fang. "Then, I will make sure your whipping will indeed be for a short while too!"

River knelt on her knees before Fang and promptly appealed, "Your Highness, I seek your forgiveness. It was I that – "

"If you are attempting to take the blame, girl, I will have have you know that it would be a futile effort nonetheless. I know my brother. You have neither need nor responsibility to make up excuses for his misdemeanours." Fang beckoned her to rise. "Wait for us at the base of the tower. I would like a word with my brother. Alone."

"Yes…your Highness." River spared a sympathetic glance for Thane, clasping her hands around her book before beginning her descent.

A fearsome growl escaped Fang as he put his brother back onto the ground. "You have a lot to answer for, Thane. I have a good mind to inform Father of your evening escapade. Perhaps sealing up your window would be a good deterrent."

"Oh, come on, Fang," begged Thane. "I was out just for an hour. Just close one eye, will you? You never saw me and I was soundly asleep in my bed tonight, alright?"

Fang huffed. "You're in no position to bargain, might I remind you. Out of the kindness of my heart however, I still might consider doing so. That is, if you answer the following question."

"Which is?"

The young cub's face paled when his brother's stern appearance gave way to a sly one. "Is she the one?"

"Huh?"

Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Fang leaned in to tug at Thane's ears. "Don't act the fool now! Magna says that you have been skipping out on lessons to be with some girl. Is that her?"

"...I don't know whom you are speaking of."

"Oh, by the Wyld, you bloody liar!" Fang roared in laughter. "It is her!"

"Hush!" hissed Thane, panicked at the possibility that River might have overheard Fang. "She'll hear us!"

"There! Right there! You bloody admit it! I…I must admit my disbelief. Never did expect you to go after her considering she's...lacking in warmth toward you."

"She's...different that way."

Fang shook his head as he sat down on a nearby crate, chuckling. "You never fail to astound me, but…it is not even my place to decide if she is a good fit for you or not. She's quite the serious type, isn't she? Perhaps, she might be a good influence to keep you in check. Ah, young love."

"I'm not in love with her!" insisted Thane in vain. "She's fun...in her own way. I just like her as a friend!"

"Right. 'Friend'...Oh well then, go. Get lost. Shoo. Scram. Scurry off to her."

"You aren't going to punish me?"

Ever practical, Fang chuckled, "Maybe. But not now. Definitely not now. It's a lovely night, after all. Lovely enough for someone to walk her home."

"What?" Thane was flabbergasted. "But what if she says she can walk home by herself?"

"Oh, you poor sod…"

"I…I am sorry."

"No need to be," Thane glumly muttered. River bit her lip when she saw his seemingly morose demeanour. What could the brute have said to him that hurt the usually arrogant wolf, she wondered. "He told me to see you home."

River hesitated but did nod. As the two started walking through the quiet streets, Thane felt a warm hand eventually slipping into his. A warning glance from River told him all he needed to know. They made their way back home with ease, for the curtain of stars that hung above were glistening with an unusual brightness that night.


End file.
